A perfect wedding in the high Sierra
Getting married in a castle in Spain is no longer the stuff of dreams for many Irish couples . Peter Cunningham reports
Imagine heaven: a castle high in Spain’s Sierra Nevada on a lovely day in May. The wedding guests are seated beneath a shady pergola, either side of an altar, waiting. Swallows harvest the high air. A red carpet runs from the castle’s great doors to the altar. The doors open and flower girls, followed by the bridesmaids, emerge into the warm Anadalucian morning. Bach’s Arioso plays. The bride and groom appear.
Every wedding must be perfect, as everyone knows, but the chances of perfection, in a setting where the weather is as good as guaranteed, is what makes many couples abandon Ireland’s hit-and-miss climate and plan their weddings overseas. In Spain you don’t need a marquee. The certainty of sunshine, and the freedom this brings, means a lot.
We flew to Malaga with Aer Lingus and rented a car. We decided to build a holiday either side of the wedding and so with some friends had rented a small villa for a few days in the seaside town of Almuñécar, one hour’s drive east of Malaga airport. Many wedding guests were staying in the Hotel Casablanca and so the bars on the seafront had a distinctly Irish feel to them for a few days.
We dined in Los Geranios one night, where the food was excellent but the atmosphere subdued; and next door at La Ventura the next night where we found the reverse—a great flamenco floor show and forgettable food. Next morning we headed up into the Sierra Nevada to the wedding venue. It was like driving up the side of an ironing board.
The Palacete de Cazulas is a beautifully restored manor house about an hour north of Almuñécar. Cazulas is perched like an eagle’s nest, high above the sleepy town of Otivar. The property consists of a main house with enormous reception rooms, vaulted ceilings, large comfortable bedrooms, terraced gardens, a 10-metre swimming pool, vineyards and shaded walks.
The deal is that the wedding party takes over the entire property for a set period—in this case, three nights. Up to 34 guests can be accommodated. All meals are fully catered. Sit back with a chilled glass of cava as the Mediterranean winks in the distance.
It takes a lot of effort and imagination to pull off any wedding and when it comes to doing it in somewhere like Spain, attention to every little detail is vital. A local wedding planner is, if not essential, then highly advised. In this case, Jenny, an English lady who has made a career of this business, arranged everything.
The couple had tied up the legal issues a couple of weeks before in a civil ceremony at home. Nonetheless, the priest, Padre Peter, resplendent in what looked like an Elizabethan outfit, complete with ruff, enunciated the wedding vows and obligations of Spain to the attentive assembly. After a couple of hours of canapés and cava, the wedding banquet was served on a large terrace that stood out like the prow of a ship over the valley.
The day went without a hitch, as did the next day when there was a barbecue. The next morning we drove to Granada and visited the Alhambra Palace. Advice: it takes a minimum of four hours to view and booking is essential.
The next day we drove back down to Nerja and spent a week recovering at a hotel with a cool garden, Hotel Casa Jardin. The best tapas are in Bar El Pulguilla, in the centre of town. We had breakfast every morning in Ortiz, with its own bakery, on the corner of Castilla Perez. Dinner in Restaurant 34 on Hernando de Carabeo was by far the best. We’re planning our return trip already.